697. Stephanie Soileau

697. This week we chat with Stephanie Soileau about her debut novel, Should the Waters Take Us. It's a critically acclaimed 2026 debut novel. Set in coastal Louisiana, the 336-page book explores Cajun identity, environmental disaster from an oil spill, and an approaching hurricane that threatens a fragile bayou community. You can read more about the book on Penguin Random House. Stephanie Soileau is a fiction writer originally from Southwest Louisiana whose work deeply explores place, community, and the environmental and economic shifts of the Gulf Coast. She is the author of the critically acclaimed short story collection Last One Out Shut Off the Lights (2020) and the novel Should the Waters Take Us (2026), a family saga spanning four centuries from rural France to coastal Louisiana.

1. Now available: Liberty in Louisiana: A Comedy. The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in print for the first time in 222 years. Order your copy today!
2. This week in the Louisiana Anthology. André Norton. Raleston Luck.
       To the south lay the old cypress swamps, dark glens of rotting wood and sprawling vines. A spur of this unsavory no-man’s land ran close along the road, and looking into it one could almost believe, fancied Val, in the legends told by the early French explorers concerning the giant monsters who were supposed to haunt the swamps and wild lands at the mouth of the Mississippi. He would not have been surprised to see a brontosaurus peeking coyly down at him from twenty feet or so of neck. It was just the sort of place any self-respecting brontosaurus would have wallowed in.
       But at last they won free from that place of cold and dank odors. Passing through Chalmette, they struck the main highway. From then on it was simple enough. St. Bernard Highway led into St. Claude Avenue and that melted into North Rampart street, one of the boundaries of the old French city.
   
3. This week in Louisiana history. September 25, 1912. Grabow Lumber Shootout murder suspect Charles Smith, shot by Calcasieu Parish Deputy. 
4. This week in New Orleans history. September 25, 2006: The New Orleans Saints returned to the Superdome for the first time after Katrina, defeating the Falcons in a historic "reopening" game.
5. This week in Louisiana.
   Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience
   October 1, 2026 ' 7:30 p.m.
   Acadiana Center for the Arts
   101 W. Vermilion St.
   Lafayette, LA 70501
   Website: acadianacenterforthearts.org
   Phone: Not listed in search results
   Email: Not listed in search results
   Sources: Two‑time Grammy Award winner Terrance Simien brings his legendary Creole roots band, The Zydeco Experience, to the Acadiana Center for the Arts for a night celebrating the living traditions of Creole music. The performance, titled 'The Creole Continuum: Transcending Tradition,' pairs Terrance with his daughter Marcella Simien, creating an intergenerational dialogue through accordion, rubboard, and soulful vocals.
• Creole Heritage: The show explores zydeco as a living cultural lineage ' rhythm, resistance, and storytelling passed down through generations.
• Grammy‑Winning Band: Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience are known for high‑energy performances that blend tradition with modern roots influences.
• Family Collaboration: Marcella Simien joins her father onstage, adding a contemporary voice to the Creole musical bloodline.
• Venue: The Acadiana Center for the Arts provides an intimate, acoustically rich setting in downtown Lafayette.
• Tickets: $45.00 (per AcA event listing).
6. Postcards from Louisiana. Herlin Riley at Snug Harbor. More cowbell. 

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696. Audrey Ades

696. How did a 19th-century merchant rebuild his life after the War of 1812 and use his fortune to secretly transform the city of New Orleans? We're joined by author Audrey Ades to talk about her picture book biography, Judah Touro Didn’t Want to Be Famous. We dive into Judah’s quiet legacy of stealth philanthropy, the importance of bringing unsung Jewish historical figures to young readers, and the timeless lesson of helping others without needing acclaim.

695. Christi Green

695. On this episode, we sit down with Lafayette resident Dr. Christi Green — a scholar of law and ethics and leader with the League of Women Voters of Louisiana — to break down everything you need to know ahead of the Fall 2026 elections in Louisiana. Drawing on her deep background in voting rights advocacy, fair mapping, and civil ethics, Christy shares her perspective on the key ballot initiatives, high-stakes races, and shifting election laws impacting Acadiana and the state. Tune in to get informed, get engaged, and make your voice count!

694. David Hylan

694. Shreveport in the 1980s and 1990s. In the heart of the Deep South, silence was deadly — until a small group of ordinary people decided to fight back. Join us for a conversation with David Hylan, the award-winning filmmaker and author who just released the book, Small Town Rage: Fighting Back in the Deep South. His 2016 documentary of the same name first brought national attention to ACT UP Shreveport, one of the smallest yet fiercest AIDS activist chapters in America.